Resistance
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
Daily Reading: Matthew 21:33 – 46
Focus Passage:
"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. . . .
"'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? (Matt. 21:38 – 39, 42)
God has no interest in forcing a kingdom of Love and Transformation on people. The very act of forcing Love and Transformation on another would violate the essence of love and transformation. God is patient, waiting long for persons to wake up to the reality of this life-giving kingdom, sending all sorts of messengers and servants to announce the kingdom and to collect the fruit of the kingdom.
We humans, though, are fickle. Rarely do we allow that there could be another plan larger than our own. Infrequently do we admit that we are not masters of our own universe. We are a people who take charge, who have grown accustomed to our own way of working in the vineyard, and we will not be supplanted, even by God.
The entire parable is a testament to human stubbornness, to the human will that is set up for itself . . . and against the larger and greater good for which God works.
It would be easy to get lost in the details of the parable, to be overcome by questions about the words and images. We do well not to get immersed too deeply in those distracting questions, but rather allow the obstinance and stiff-necked will of the parable’s tenants to remind us of our own resistances.
Within each of us there are pockets of resistance to God, parts of our lives that stand back from allowing ourselves too much intimacy with God. In the faith tradition of my upbringing, if you got too cozy with God, you would end up in Africa as a missionary. For some folks that was a good thing. For me and many others, it was frightening and led us to keep intimacy with God at arm’s length.
Perhaps today you would notice ways you resist God. In the language of the parable, notice the “tenant” within you. When you hear certain sermons, you feel your insides tighten. When you read certain passages of the Bible, you quickly move to another. When you sense God might be leading you to a particular course of action, you get anxious.
For our spiritual health and well-being, it’s worth examining those places of internal resistance. If we’ll brave that difficult terrain, we’ll know our own soul’s terrain more thoroughly and be more capable of offering all of ourselves to God in love.
For Reflection:
As the meditation suggests, notice one or two things that tend to prompt your resistance to God. Does your resistance tend to take the same shape time after time? Is there something constant that prompts your resistance . . . a particular idea? or doctrine? or invitation?
Another way of thinking about this issue is to identity the “tenant” within you . . . the part of you that resists an invitation from God according to the parable.
Also, you might find it helpful to notice the ways you resist. Do you chase after minor distractions when some difficult topic comes up? Do you simply dismiss the thought when something difficult presents itself? Do you argue or debate with God over the matters which seek to invite your engagement?
Daily Reading: Matthew 21:33 – 46
Focus Passage:
"But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him and take his inheritance.' So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. . . .
"'The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes'? (Matt. 21:38 – 39, 42)
God has no interest in forcing a kingdom of Love and Transformation on people. The very act of forcing Love and Transformation on another would violate the essence of love and transformation. God is patient, waiting long for persons to wake up to the reality of this life-giving kingdom, sending all sorts of messengers and servants to announce the kingdom and to collect the fruit of the kingdom.
We humans, though, are fickle. Rarely do we allow that there could be another plan larger than our own. Infrequently do we admit that we are not masters of our own universe. We are a people who take charge, who have grown accustomed to our own way of working in the vineyard, and we will not be supplanted, even by God.
The entire parable is a testament to human stubbornness, to the human will that is set up for itself . . . and against the larger and greater good for which God works.
It would be easy to get lost in the details of the parable, to be overcome by questions about the words and images. We do well not to get immersed too deeply in those distracting questions, but rather allow the obstinance and stiff-necked will of the parable’s tenants to remind us of our own resistances.
Within each of us there are pockets of resistance to God, parts of our lives that stand back from allowing ourselves too much intimacy with God. In the faith tradition of my upbringing, if you got too cozy with God, you would end up in Africa as a missionary. For some folks that was a good thing. For me and many others, it was frightening and led us to keep intimacy with God at arm’s length.
Perhaps today you would notice ways you resist God. In the language of the parable, notice the “tenant” within you. When you hear certain sermons, you feel your insides tighten. When you read certain passages of the Bible, you quickly move to another. When you sense God might be leading you to a particular course of action, you get anxious.
For our spiritual health and well-being, it’s worth examining those places of internal resistance. If we’ll brave that difficult terrain, we’ll know our own soul’s terrain more thoroughly and be more capable of offering all of ourselves to God in love.
For Reflection:
As the meditation suggests, notice one or two things that tend to prompt your resistance to God. Does your resistance tend to take the same shape time after time? Is there something constant that prompts your resistance . . . a particular idea? or doctrine? or invitation?
Another way of thinking about this issue is to identity the “tenant” within you . . . the part of you that resists an invitation from God according to the parable.
Also, you might find it helpful to notice the ways you resist. Do you chase after minor distractions when some difficult topic comes up? Do you simply dismiss the thought when something difficult presents itself? Do you argue or debate with God over the matters which seek to invite your engagement?
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